Waste disposal device having noise damping means



H. JORDAN Dc. zo, 1960 WASTE DISPOSAL DEVICE HAVING NOISE DAMPING MEANS Filed July 14, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l Irl Dec. 20, 1960 `H. JORDAN 1 2,955,318

wAsIE DISPOSAL DEVICE HAVING NoIsE DANPING MEANS Filed July 14, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ivi/avra?.

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United States Patent O 2,965,318 WASTE DISPSAL DEVICE HAVING NOISE DAMPING MEANS Hans Jordan, Los Angeles, Calif., assigner to Waste King Corporation, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of Califoruia Filed July 14, 1958, Ser. No. 748,238 6 Claims. (Cl. 241-46) This invention relates to garbage or waste disposal devices of the type commonly employed in domestic kitchens, and, more particularly, to such a device having noise damping means for reducing noise and vibrations normally transmitted by such devices.

Conventional waste disposal devices are normally installed in a kitchen by mounting the same on and suspending the same from a kitchen sink which is in turn mounted in or on a rigid drain board. Such devices normally employ rotatable impellers or grinding devices which are rotated at relatively high speed by an electric motor to rotate and comminute waste material inserted into the device from the sink area. Such devices are adapted to comminute animal bones and other types of quite solid waste, but in doing so generate in accompanying high noise level which is annoying and disturbing to occupants ofthe premises.

Such noise generated by conventional waste disposal devices develops primarily in two forms. First, noise is transmitted radially outwardly from the outer shell of the device to the surrounding atmosphere in which it `sets up loud and very audible sound vibrations. Secondly, vibrations are transmitted vertically from the device through its mounting means to the sink from which it is suspended, to the drain board in which the sink is mounted, and to the adjacent walls of the room, the sink, drain board, and room Walls acting as sounding boards to amplify and transmit the vibrations as audible noise throughout the kitchen area and beyond.

It is a primary object of this invention to reduce substantially the noise transmission from such a waste disposal device. I prefer to accomplish this by confining a substantial portion of the noise producing vibrations to the disposal device and to prevent or substantially reduce their transmission to surrounding areas.

A further object of this invention is to provide such a disposal device in which the transmission of such radial noise producing vibrations is substantially dampened by an outer shell surrounding and spaced from the device with the provision of vibration absorbing material disposed between the outer shell and the outer walls of the device. A further object is to provide such a disposal device in which the outer shell is split into segments to permit easy assembly and disassembly. Another object is to provide such a device in which the outer shell is mounted on but isolated from the device by vibration absorbing material. -A further object is to employ in such a device an outer shell` having an inner surface adapted to rellect inwardly noise producing vibrations.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such a waste disposal device having a mounting for suspending the same from `a kitchen sink or the like, including an annular sleeve formed of an elastomeric material, such as rubber, adapted to absorb and dampen noise producing vibrations which would otherwise be transmitted to the sink. Another object is to provide such a device in which the outer noise damping shell is connected directly to such an annular sleeve.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specication and the drawings, which are for the purpose of illustration only, and in which: 1

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Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional elevational view taken through a waste disposal device embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view, on a reduced scale, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional View of the left-hand joint between the two mating halves of the outer shell as shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged elevational view of a portion of the joint between the two mating halves of the outer shell; and

Fig. 8 is a graph illustrating the noise damping eiect of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a waste disposal device 16 adapted to be suspended from a sink, drain board, or the like 11, having an opening 12 therein. The disposal device 1li is adapted to comminute garbage or other waste material, and particularly as shown and described, is adapted for conventional household use.

The disposal device 10 generally includes suspension means 14, vertical hopper means 15, rotatable comminuting means 16, power means 17 operatively connected to the comminuting means and adapted to actuate the same, outer shell means 18, and sound absorbing material 19.

The suspension means 14 is generally as shown and described in my co-pending application Serial No. 525,430, tiled August 1, 1955, now Patent No. 2,851,224. It includes a tubular inlet sleeve 20 having an annular upper llange 21 which is adapted to rest on and be supported by the sink 11. The sleeve 20 is provided at its lower end with an inturned annular bead 22 providing a seat for a stopper 23 and an external annular groove 24 which receives a substantially circular snap ring 25 which in turn supports an upper annular ring mount 26 provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced threaded openings 27, preferably three in number, each of which receives a screw 29. Beneath the ring mount 26 is provided a clamp ring 30 provided with a plurality of openings 31 vertically aligned with the threaded openings 27 but of a larger size, each of which receives one of the screws 29, the clamp ring being supported on nuts 32 threaded onto the screws. The clamp ring 30 supports a ring member 33 upon which rests a head 34 of a tubular sleeve member 36 formed of rubber or other elastomeric material. The lower end of the resilient sleeve member 36 is provided with an annular shoulder 38 upon which rests an inwardly extending llange of a lower clamp ring 39 having an inwardly extending lower flange 40 which fits under an external peripheral bead 41 formed on the upper end of a generally conical upper housing member 42 of the hopper means 15.

The form, disposition, and operation. of the rubber sleeve member 36 are of particular importance to this invention. Such sleeve provides a central tubular portion which is relatively thin and has a length substantially greater than its thickness. The bulk of the weight of the disposal device 10 is suspended directly by the sleeve member 36, which puts the sleeve member in tension, and this is a very important feature of the invention. I have found that by so suspending the weight from an elastomeric sleeve in tension, the vibration reducing characteristics of the sleeve are greatly improved over alternative constructions in which the weight is sup` ported on a conventional rubber gasket under compression or in shear.

Connected to the lower end of the upper housing member 42 is a central housing member 44 and clamped therebetween is an annular grind ring 45, the central housing member providing an annular discharge chamber 46 anda discharge outlet 47 connected thereto. To the lower end of the central housing member 44 is connected a motor shell 48 housing an electric motor (not shown) which is connected by a drive shaft 49 to the rotatable comminuting means 16.

The comminuting means 16 includes a dish-shaped table member 511 which is rigidly supported on the upper end of the drive shaft `49 and is provided with impellers or comminuting elements 52, a plurality of which are preferably spaced around the periphery of the table member and co-,operate with projections 53 on the inner wall of the Ygrind ring 45 so ,that when the table member is rotatedv by the motor the comminuting elements cooperate with the projections to comminute waste material therebetween. The comminuted material passes downwardly through suitable ports in the grind ring or between the table member 51 and the grind ring 45 and into the discharge member 46 from which it passes into the discharge outlet 47, as is well-known in the art.

The outer shell means 18 is preferably formed in two mating halves 55 and 56, as best shown in Fig. 3. Each of the halves 55 and 56 is provided with a semi-circular hole 57 to accommodate the tubular discharge outlet 47, and is provided with a semi-circular hole 58 to accomrnodate a tubular inlet port member 59 which is normally plugged by a plug 60 and closed by a cap member 61, the port member being provided for connection to a dishwasher or other article as desired. The outer shell member 18 is preferably formed of polystyrene or a like material having a smooth, shiny inner surface 62 adapted to reflect noise vibrations inwardly, and this is a feature of the invention.

Within the outer shell 18 is a pad of insulation material 64 which may be formed in two halves 65 and-66 for ease of assembly. The insulation material 64 is preferably Fiberglas, or other like material, adapted to absorb noise by attenuating the vibrations of the contained air.

The lower end of the outer shell means 18 seats against an annular gasket 67, formed of rubber or other resilient material, which in turn lits over the lower end of the motor shell 4S. The upper end of the outer shell means 18 is provided with an inwardly directed flange 70 which fits into an annular groove 71 formed in the periphery of the tubular sleeve member 36. Thus, as will be understood, the outer shell means 18 is insulated from the hopper means and the power means 17 at the top by the resilient tubular sleeve member 36, at the bottom by the resilient gasket 67, and by the insulation material 64.

The joinder of the two halves 55 and 56 ofthe shell means 13 and the means for retaining the same together are also features of novelty. The shell half 56 is provided at its joinder edge with a plurality of projecting tabs 72 and recessed sockets '73, the tabs and sockets preferably alternating, and the shell half 55 has identical tabs and sockets, so that when the shells are placed together the tabs of one shell will enter and be retained in mating sockets of the other half, as illustrated generally in Fig. 3. This construction provides a close mating of the halves 55 and 56 and provides adequate strength along the seamline between the halves. y

As best shownin Figs. 2 and 5 the top of the shell half 56 is provided with a pair of upper bosses 74 and the half 55 is provided with a pair of mating upper bosses 75, diametrically opposed, over each mating pair of which a spring clip 76 is snapped to retain the upper ends of the shells together. Similarly, as best shown in Figs. 1 and '4, the bottom of the shell half 56 is provided with a pair of lower bosses 77 and the shell half 55 is provided with a pair of mating lower bosses 78 over each mating pair of which a spring clip.79 is snapped to retain the lower'ends of the shells together. The springclips '76 and 79 may be installed or removed readily to permit the halves 55 and 56 to be locked together or separated, and this is a feature of the invention.

It is also to be noted that the shell halves 55 and 56 are identical, except for the semi-circular openings 57 and 58 therein, such openings'being on one yside of one half and on the other side of the yother half so that when the halves are assembled together the openings will mate together. This is an important production feature, because the shell halves may be molded initially without the semicircular openings 57 and 58, in which state they are identical, requiring only a single mold for both halves, and then the openings may be punched out of one side of onehalf and the other side of the other half to provide the finished halves as shown.

ln operation, as will be understood, the stopper 23 is removed and waste material, such as garbage, is manually introduced into the hopper means 15 through the inlet sleeves 20 and 36 with a flow of water, the motor means 17 being energized to rotate the comminuting means 16 and to comminute the waster material, comminuted waste material being discharged through the discharge outlet 47.

The comminution of Waste material, and particularly hard waste material such as animal bones and the like, produces noise vibrations of substantial magnitude in the hopper means 15 and motor means 17. In conventional waste disposal devices a large part of such noise is transmitted radially from the hopper and motor into the surrounding atmosphere and a large part is transmitted from the unit to the sink and surrounding walls through a rigid or semi-rigid connection between the unit and the sink. The major portion of such noise producing vibrations is in the audible range from 100 cycles per second up to about 6800 cycles per second.

The graph shown in Fig. 8 provides a quantitive comparison of the results produced by the present invention in comparison with those produced by a conventional waste disposal device without the incorporation of the present invention. The graph shows the sound level in decibels plotted against vibration frequency in cycles per second. The curve 84 show s the noise level of a waste disposal device in all respects identical with that described in this vspecification with the omission of the outer shell means 18, the insulation material 64, and the substitution of a rigid connection between the hopper means 15 and the inlet sleeve 20. The curve 85 shows the noise level of the `same waste disposal device as described in this specification but omitting only the outer shell means 18 and the insulation material 64. From the curve 85, it will be apparent that a substantial amount of the noise producing vibrations between about and 1700 cycles per second have been reduced by the addition 'of the resilient inlet sleeve 36. The curve 86 illustrates the noise level of a device incorporating the complete invention shown and described herein. Fromthe curve 86 it is evident that although there is improvement in noise reduction throughout the audible range of vibrations over 100 `cycles per second plotted, the major improvement in noise reduction is in the range over about 1000 cycles per second, and that in such higher frequency range a substantial portion of the noise producing vibrations is dampened and absorbed by the outer shell means 18 and insulation material 64. It will also be V'apparent from the graph of Fig. 8 that in a conventional unit a large part of the low frequency noise producing vibrations is transmitted directly from the unit to the sink and surrounding walls, which, incidentally, act as a sounding board, whereas a large part of the high frequency vibrations are radiated directly from the unit into the surrounding atmosphere. The present invention provides means for absorbing and dampening a large part of the vibrations in both frequency .ranges and reduces the overall noise transmission from 'the device to a level that provides more acceptable living conditions in the area near the device when it is in operation.

Although I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain parts and features thereof may be modified without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I desire to be afforded the full scope of the following claims:

I claim as my invention:

1. In a waste disposal device, the combination of:

vertical hopper means having an opening at the upper end for the introduction of waste material;

rotatable comminuting means adjacent to the lower end of said hopper means;

power means below and operatively connected to said comminuting means and operable to actuate said comminuting means;

suspension means connected to the upper end of said hopper means and adapted to be connected to a sink to suspend said hopper means therefrom;

outer shell means separate from and enclosing said hopper means, said comminuting means, and said power means and being spaced therefrom throughout its entire` area and providing an annular space therebetween;

connecting means for connecting the lower end of said outer shell means to the lower end of said power means; and

sound insulation material in said annular space and substantially surrounding said hopper means, said comminuting means, and said power means.

2. In a waste disposal device, the combination of:

vertical hopper means having an opening at the upper end for the introduction of Waste material;

rotatable comminuting means adjacent to the lower end of said hopper means;

power means below and operatively connected to said comminuting means and operable to actuate said comminuting means;

suspension means connected to the upper end of said hopper means and adapted to be connected to a sink to suspend said hopper means therefrom;

outer shell means separate from and enclosing said hopper means, said comminuting means, and said power means and being spaced therefrom throughout its entire area and providing an annular space therebetween;

connecting means for connecting the lower end of said outer shell means to the lower end of said power means;

sound insulation material in said annular space and substantially surrounding said hopper means, said comminuting means, and said power means; said outer shell means being formed in two mating halves to permit assembly and removal; and means releasably securing said halves together with adjacent edges in abutment.

3. In a waste disposal device, the combination of:

vertical hopper means having an opening at the upper end for the introduction of waste material;

rotatable comminuting means adjacent to the lower end of said hopper means;

4 power means below and operatively connected to said comminuting means and operable to actuate said comminuting means;

suspension means connected to the upper end of said hopper means and adapted to be connected to a sink to suspend said hopper means therefrom, said suspension means including an annular ring of elastomeric material adapted to dampen the transmission of relatively low frequency audible vibrations from said housing means to such a sink;

outer shell means separate from and enclosing said hopper means, said comminuting means, and said power means and being spaced therefrom throughout its entire area and providing an annular space therebetween;

connecting means for connecting the lower end of said outer shell means to said power means; and

sound insulation material in said annular space and substantially surrounding said hopper means, said comminuting means, and said power means, said outer shell means and said sound insulation means being adapted to dampen the transmission of relatively high frequency audible vibrations from said housing means, said cornminuting means, and said power means to the surrounding atmosphere.

4. In a waste disposal device, the combination of:

vertical hopper means having an opening at the upper end for the introduction of waste material;

comminuting means associated with the lower end of said hopper means for comminuting waste material therein; andv shell means separate from and enclosing at least a portion of said hopper means, said shell means being formed of relatively thin molded plastic material and including a pair of vertically mating halves each having an engaging edge adapted to engage the corresponding edge of the other half, each of said edges being provided with a plurality of projections and a plurality of recesses, each of the projections on one edge being received in a mating recess on the other edge, to retain such halves, each of said halves being molded in the same mold together and to provide seamline strength between the halves.

5. In a waste disposal device, the combination of:

vertical hopper means having an opening at the upper end for the introduction of waste material;

comminuting means associated with the lower end of said hopper means for comminuting waste material therein;

shell means separate from and enclosing at least a portion of said hopper means, said shell means being formed of relatively thin material and including a pair of vertically mating halves each having an engaging edge adaptedto engage the corresponding edge of the other half, each of said edges being provided with a plurality of projections and a plurality of recesses, each of the projections on one edge being received in a mating recess on the other edge, to retain such halves together and to provide seamline strength between the halves; and

removable spring clip means at the upper and lower ends of said shell meansand interconnecting said halves.

6. In a waste disposal device, the combination of: a vertically oriented structure including hopper means having an opening at its upper end for the introduction of Waste material, rotatable comminuting means adjacent the lower end of said hopper means for comminuting the waste material, and power means below and operatively connected to said comminuting means for actuating said comminuting means; vibration absorbing material encircling a substantial portion of said structure; a vertically oriented shell encircling said vibration absorbing material and spaced throughout its entire area from said structure to provide between said structure and shell an annular space occupied by said vibration absorbing material; elastomeric means connecting the upper end of said shell to said structure; and means including elastomeric means connecting the lower end of said shell to said structure.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,678,168 Phillips May 11, 1954 2,743,875 Brezosky et al. May 1, 1956 2,785,864 Jordan Mar. 19, 1957 2,851,224 Jordan Sept. 9, 1958 2,858,989 Jordan Nov. 4, 1958 2,894,698 Brucken July 14, 1959 2,896,866 Hyde July 28, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 23,442 Australia Nov. 6, 1929 501,751 Canada Apr. 20, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT UEETCE eemmmom Patent No., 2v9653l8 December 20H 1960 Hans Jordan It is hereby certified that erlor appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column l? line 2l, for "Wester" read We Waste me; column 6, lines 23 and 24g strike oult "E each of said halves beine: molded in the same mold" and insert the eame after 'halwee" and before the period in line 25g same ColumnD Signed and sealed this 23rd day of May l9l (SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER Attesting Officer DAVID L. LADD Commissioner of Patents 

